Devi Novak
Co-Leader of the Ananda Spiritual Community :: March 2022
Devi, your years of service to Ananda Sangha Worldwide exemplify the heart energy we seek to recognize and affirm. You were one of the founding members of Ananda Village in 1969, where you met your spiritual teacher, Swami Kriyananda, and dedicated yourself to the spiritual path. You began a life of intense spiritual focus, training, and service.
In 1984 you and your husband Jayaswami Jyotish became the spiritual co-directors of Ananda, and together you have helped lead Ananda to become a movement of 140,000 people in 28 countries. Now you and Jyotish travel throughout the United States, India, and Europe teaching and speaking and inspiring others with the timeless and universal teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, regardless of their religious orientation or circumstances. You and Jyotish have written several books and in 2018, the two of you received the Global Ambassador Peace Award.
As a leader of Ananda, you are known for an extraordinary balance of loving compassion, inspired creativity, being a mother and grandmother, and a teacher and author who breathes vitality and clarity into the eternal truths. You are described as a “selfless harbinger of peace and compassion, friendship and right action.”
Devi, it is in your role as a loving teacher that we know you best. We love the story about your waking from bad dreams as a child and your mother comforting you by encouraging you to think about happy things—a powerful spiritual technique. We try to follow your advice that challenges contain within themselves the seeds of future success. We believe in your reflection that divine love comes with the responsibility to share it with others—just as you have done. These and so many other teachings of yours have been gifts to us and to the world.
Ananda is a great force for goodness and for spiritual growth in the world. We are grateful for all the good people who devote themselves to this movement and radiate love to all around them. Devi, we are delighted in this small way to honor the central role you have played in Ananda’s remarkable evolution, and through you, we honor this entire community.
Congratulations!
Elissa and Bruce Peterson, Founding Members